Hamilton 'gutted' as Mercedes miss chance to contend

Lewis Hamilton said he felt "gutted" after qualifying fifth for the British GP, as he believes his Mercedes had the pace to seal a front-row start at Silverstone.

Hamilton, aided by significant upgrades to his Mercedes for his home race, had appeared the driver most likely to challenge Red Bull's Max Verstappen for pole, but ultimately neither of last year's world championship contenders were able to secure top spot.

In a dramatic finale, Carlos Sainz snatched the first pole of his F1 career, beating Verstappen and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, with the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez fourth.

That left Hamilton, who has a record eight victories at Silverstone, fifth, and starting somewhere other than the front row at the British GP for the first time since 2014, when he went on to win the race from sixth.

"I'm a little bit gutted really because obviously we have such a great crowd here and I was pushing so hard to get on the front row and fight for pole position today," the seven-time world champion said.

"I think we could have been in the top three. I was gunning for second at least and so to end fifth, it makes tomorrow tough, but I know I've got this amazing crowd with me so I'll try to push forward."

Hamilton suggested the upgrades to his Mercedes, which has endured a woeful start to the 2022 season, were only partially responsible for putting him within striking distance of Red Bull and Ferrari.

"It was definitely an improvement for us," he added. "We seem to have closed up a little bit. I think in the dry we wouldn't have been able to compete for top three or anything like that, but I think in the rain we had a chance.

"In the rain, you're not as fast in the high-speed corners so there's less bouncing and